Androgyny and BRSI

• Androgony - AO1


  displaying a mixture/balance of masculine and feminine characteristics, behaviours and attitudes
• Bem's sex role inventory - BSRI - AO1


  - The first systematic attempt to measure androgyny using a rating scale .

  - Scale - 20 masculine traits, 20 feminine traits and 20 neutral traits - 60 in total

  - Respondents were required to rate themselves on a 7-point rating scale - ranging from never true of me (1) - always true of me (7)
• The scale is valid and reliable - 😊

  - Scale developed by asking 50 makes and 50 females to rank 200 traits in terms of how reliable they were from men and women.

  - Highest scoring traits became the 20 masculine and 20 female traits.

  - Piloted with over 1000 students - results broadly corresponded with individuals' own description of gender identity.

  - Degree of validity

  - Follow - up study with smaller sample of same students conducted a month later

  - Similar results - suggests high test-retest reliability
• Association between androgyny and psychological wellbeing - 🙁

  - Bem placed emphasis on the idea that androgynous people are more psychologically healthy as they are best placed to deal with situations that demand masculine traits, feminine traits or both.

  This assumption can be challenged

  Adams and Sherer - 1985 - Those who have higher proportion of masculine to feminine traits are better adjusted as they are more valuable to western society

  Bem may not have taken into consideration the social and cultural contexts
• Oversimplifies a complex concept - 🙁

  - Gender identity too complex to be reduced to single score

  Alternative like Personal attitude questionnaire (PAQ) have been developed - measures instrumentality and expressivity.

  - However, both have been criticised - for being based on the idea that gender identity can be quantified.

  - Golombok and Fivush - 1994 - Gender identity more global than these scales. In order to understand gender identity, we need to look at broader issues - persons interests and the perception or our own abilities.
• Masculine characterisation

  • High score on masculine items
  • Low score on feminine items
• Female characterisation

  • High score on feminine items
  • Low score on masculine items
• Androgenous characterisation

  • High score on masculine items
  • High score on feminine items
• Unclassified characterisation

  • Low score on masculine items
  • Low score on feminine items
• Temporal and cultural validity - 🙁


  • CP to the scale being valid and reliable
  • BSRI developed over 40 years ago
  • Expectations have changed in regard to gender and behaviour since then
  • Also concern that the original judges who gave their ideas on masculine and feminine traits were all from the US
  • Calls to question the temporal and cultural validity of the BSRI
• Issues surrounding questionnaires - 🙁

  • Questionnaires assume a degree of self-understanding
  • HW, people answers may be determined by response bias
  • They may also be influenced by social desirability bias - where they rate themselves raters choose the answer they think shows them in a favourable way
  • Again limits the validity of BRSI due to the subjectivity and bias that can arise from using such questionnaires